SLN Overview

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Online Learning Environments An Emerging Model
for Best Practice
Peter Shea Eric Fredericksen Alexandra
Pickett William Pelz State University of New
York
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The 2001 Educause Award

• EDUCAUSE Award for Systemic Progress in Teaching
  and Learning
• This EDUCAUSE award program, initiated in 2000,
  recognizes innovation in the campus teaching and
  learning culture. It honors replicable, scalable,
  and transformational programs and practices that
  have helped move institutions toward
  enterprise-wide instructional systems.
• EDUCAUSE is an international, nonprofit
  association whose mission is to help shape and
  enable transformational change in higher
  education through the introduction, use, and
  management of information resources and
  technologies in teaching, learning, scholarship,
  research, and institutional management.

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2001 Sloan Consortium Award for Excellence in ALN
Faculty Development2002 Sloan Consortium Award
for Excellence in Institution-wide ALN Programming
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Introduction
Advanced Learning Information Services

• Office of the Provost - System Administration
• Advanced Learning
• SUNY Learning Network
• SUNY TLT and MERLOT
• Library Services
• SUNYConnect
• Technology Services
• Training and Development
• http//www.alis.suny.edu

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Introduction
Overview. . .
SLN - Building a University System-Wide Online
Program
Faculty training and instructional
design Technology infrastructure Help
desk Marketing Program development Program
administration
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Background
Campus Responsibilities

• Academic Authority
• Offer courses
• Grant Degree
• Select Faculty
• Academic Review
• Standard Student Services
• Enrollment Management
• Financial Aid
• Advisement
• Receive and Manage revenue
• Tuition, State Aid, Charge backs, etc

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Background
Growth in campus participation
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Background
Growth in courses offered
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Background
Growth in enrollments
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Background
Growth in degree programs
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Overview

• Conceptual model for online learning environments
  
• General SLN longitudinal data
• Teaching Presence Survey
• Survey Questions/Results
• Correlations
• Conclusions

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What makes a good, higher education,
online-learning environment?
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What makes a good, higher education,
online-learning environment?

• To answer this you need to know
• 1) What makes a good learning environment
  offline?
• 2) What are important, specific, best practices
  for adult learners in higher education?
• 3) What are important specific, best practices
  for adult online learners in higher education?

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What makes a good, higher education,
online-learning environment?

• To answer this you need to know
• 1) What makes a good learning environment
  generally?

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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Community
Learner Centered
Knowledge Centered
Assessment Centered
Bransford, et al (2001) How People Learn
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How People Learn Framework (Bransford et al,
2002) People learn best in environments that are
Knowledge Centered Outcomes oriented -
knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for
successful transfer. (may be complex
outcomes)   Learner Centered - connect to the
strengths, interests, and preconceptions of
learners and help them learn about themselves as
learners.   Community Centered environment where
students feel safe to ask questions, learn to
work collaboratively, and are helped to develop
lifelong learning skills.   Assessment Centered
- provide multiple opportunities to make
students thinking visible so they can receive
feedback and be given a chance to revise.
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What makes a good, higher education,
online-learning environment?

• To answer this you need to know
• 2) What are important, specific, best practices
  for adult learners in higher education?

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The 7 principles of good practice in
undergraduate education encourage
Contact Between Students and Faculty Reciprocity
and Cooperation Among Students Active
Learning Techniques Communication of High
Expectations Respect for Diverse Talents and
Ways of Learning Prompt Feedback Time on Task
"Certain institutional practices are known to
lead to high levels of student engagement.
Perhaps the best known set of engagement
indicators is the "Seven Principles of Good
Practice in Undergraduate Education." (Kuh, 2001
National Survey of Student Engagement)


Chickering and Gamson, (1987)
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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
The 7 principles of good practice encourage
Community
Contact Between Students and Faculty
Student Reciprocity and Cooperation
Prompt Feedback
Time on Task
Learner Centered
Active Learning Techniques
Communication of High Expectations
Knowledge Centered
Respect for Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Chickering and Gamson, (1987)
Assessment Centered
Bransford, et al (2001) How People Learn
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What makes a good, higher education,
online-learning environment?

• To answer this you need to know
• 3) What are important specific, best practices
  for adult online learners in higher education?

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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Online Learning Community
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Cognitive Presence
Supporting Discourse
Social Presence
Selecting Content
Setting Climate
Teaching Presence
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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Online Learning Community
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Teaching Presence
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Teaching Presence

• Instructional Design and Organization
• Facilitating Discourse
• Direct Instruction
• (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, Archer 2001)

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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Online Learning Community
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Cognitive Presence
Supporting Discourse
Social Presence
Selecting Content
Setting Climate
Teaching Presence
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Social Presence

• The ability of participants in an online course
  to project their personal characteristics into
  the community to present themselves as real
  people."

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• Three Forms of Social Presence
• Affective - The expression of emotion, feelings,
  and mood
• Interactive - evidence that the other is
  attending
• Cohesive - activities that build and sustain a
  sense of group commitment
• http//cade.athabascau.ca/vol14.2/rourke_et_al.htm
  l

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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Online Learning Community
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Cognitive Presence
Supporting Discourse
Social Presence
Selecting Content
Setting Climate
Teaching Presence
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Cognitive Presence

• The extent to which students are able to
  construct and confirm meaning through sustained
  discourse in a community of inquiry

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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
Community of Inquiry
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Cognitive Presence
Supporting Discourse
Social Presence
Selecting Content
Setting Climate
Teaching Presence
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A Developing Conceptual Framework for Online
Learning
The 7 principles of good practice encourage
Online Learning Community
Contact Between Students and Faculty
Student Reciprocity and Cooperation
Prompt Feedback
Cognitive Presence
Time on Task
Active Learning Techniques
Social Presence
Communication of High Expectations
Supporting Discourse
Respect for Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Selecting Content
Chickering and Gamson, (1987)
Setting Climate
Teaching Presence
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
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A Conceptual Framework for High Quality, Higher-
Education, Online Learning
The 7 principles of good practice encourage
Online Learning Community
Contact Between Students and Faculty
Reciprocity and Cooperation
Prompt Feedback
Cognitive Presence (Knowledge Centered)
Time on Task
Active Learning Techniques
(Learner Centered)
Supporting Discourse
Communication of High Expectations
Social Presence
Respect for Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Selecting Content
Chickering and Gamson, (1987)
Setting Climate
Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based
Environment Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001)
Teaching Presence (Assessment Centered)
Bransford, et al (2001) How People Learn
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Assessing SLN so far

• Longitudinal data reflective of some of these
  issues

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Student Satisfaction and Reported Learning

• Some trends in student characteristics in SLN
• Online experience
• Computer skills

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• Evidence of and progress towards
• Interaction, reciprocity, cooperation
• A Learner and Community
• Centered Environment

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• Evidence of and progress towards
• High Expectations
• How to Succeed
• Prompt and High Quality Feedback
• A Teaching and Assessment
• Centered Environment

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How satisfied were you with this online course?
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Teaching Presence as a description of interaction
Online Learning Community
Assessing Teaching Presence in a Computer
Conferencing Context Anderson, Rourke Garrison,
and Archer (2001)
Teaching Presence
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Teaching Presence

• Instructional Design and Organization
• Facilitating Discourse
• Direct Instruction
• (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, Archer 2001)

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey -
Higher Average Scores

• Instructional Design and Organization

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey -
Higher Average Scores

• Instructional Design and Organization
• Overall 85 expressed agreement with survey
  statements in this area
• Reflects the resources allocated to
  Instructional Design and Organization

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey - Lower
Average Scores

• II. Facilitating Discourse

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey - Lower
Average Scores

• II. Facilitating Discourse
• Instructor Score 73
• Student Score 72

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey -
Middle Average Scores

• III. Direct Instruction

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Some Results of Teaching Presence Survey -
Middle Average Scores

• III. Direct Instruction
• Instructor Score 76
• Student Score 66

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Correlations

• Importance of strong teaching presence to student
  satisfaction and reported learning. For example,
• Instructional Design and Organization

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Differences

• The Teaching Presence Survey measured
  instructional interaction behaviors of both
  instructors and students

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Differences

• Instructor behaviors correlate more highly with
  satisfaction and learning

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Conclusions

• Ongoing high levels of satisfaction/learning in
  SLN
• High levels of teaching presence in this online
  environment
• Identified areas that may need work/investigation
• Strong instructor-teaching presence correlates
  more with satisfaction/learning
• Ongoing importance of the instructors role, and
  teaching presence survey may be a method to
  evaluate and improve

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Conclusions

• Revising repeat faculty development to address
  areas that need work e.g. a starting point for
  small group discussions rate yourself in these
  areas of teaching presence how might you
  improve?
• Application of presence constructs to SLN
  points to the real, practical value of the work
  of SLOAN- C (e.g. articles appearing in JALN,
  these meetings, etc. do have an impact)
• Further research using this framework is needed

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Any questions
Any questions
?
?